The Lure of Imperialism
NAME: ______
The Main Idea
The United States entered the imperialist competition later than the European powers but soon extended its influence in the Pacific region.
Reading Focus
• What inspired the imperialist activity of the late 1800s?
• How did the United States take control of Hawaii?
• How did the United States gain influence in China?
• How did the United States exert influence in Japan?
Several industrialized nations competed to gain territory throughout the world.
• The Industrial Revolution had increased wealth in many nations, causing them to look elsewhere for markets and opportunities for investment.
• An increase in trade had brought about the rise of large navies to protect trading interests. These navies needed strategically placed bases for refueling and repairs.
What was this European attitude also know as?
The Imperialist Powers
The Imperialists
• Great Britain
• France
• Belgium
• Germany
• Japan
Ideology
• Nationalism
• Social Darwinism, a belief in the cultural superiority of western nations over less industrially developed nations
• Christian missionaries sought to convert believers of other faiths.
Taking Control of Hawaii
• British explorer James Cook first visited Hawaii in 1778.
• Hawaii was ideally located for coaling stations and bases for ships trading between the U.S. and Asia.
• American missionaries and others came to Hawaii and raised crops, particularly sugarcane.
• The sugar industry grew and gained influence and control.
King Kalakaua negotiated a treaty that made Hawaiian sugar cheap to import to the United States.
• Sugar tycoon Sanford Dole became president of the Republic of Hawaii.
• Hawaii became a U.S. territory in 1898.
The Open Door Policy gives the United States an equal footing in China.
• European powers gained spheres of influence in China.
What are more modern day spheres of influence?
• The United States feared it would be shut out of the valuable China trade.
• Increased foreign presence in China led to the Boxer Rebellion.
• Western nations cooperated to quell the rebellion and continue exploitation of Chinese trade.
Diplomacy and naval superiority help the U.S. gain influence in Japan.
• Japan was isolated and unindustrialized until the mid-1800s.
• Commodore Matthew Perry brought four steamships into Tokyo Bay in 1853 to pressure Japan to open its ports to trade.
• Japan quickly became an industrial and military power to compete with the West.
These types of tactics would be later known as what?